7. • The axe that is picked up by Kipps is typical of the horror genre as
a weapon for either victim or monster to use, as the weapon is
used in the extract as a form of protection and to make him seem
stronger than he is, in addition Kipps uses it with the intent to
harm which makes the audience tense as he is usually calm.
However in other movies an axe is used as a method to introduce
gore as it can be considered a brutal weapon if used in a certain
way.
• Dolls and children’s rooms are also used in horror movies as they
contrast ideas that a child is innocent but can be
involved with something evil, in the woman
in black the idea of Kipps should not be there
is played on as he clearly is uncomfortable in his
surroundings, the sense of confusion and
unease is played on in many horrors which is
why it is iconic.
• Crosses are iconic in supernatural or
paranormal subgenres as they often relate to
religion or death, The cross is used in the
woman in black to signify the motive of the
monster, and the fact that she wants revenge
because of her son dying is illustrated in the
cross and boy.
• A isolated location is usual of a horror as it
means that the victim cannot escape or get help.
8. Diegetic Sound
The majority of sound in the clip is diegetic sound, this is to make
it more realistic and intense for the audience to watch as horrors
rely of getting the viewers to relate and empathise to the story.
The most important sound in the clip is the rocking chair, this is
because as Kipps gets closer to the room the sound increases in
volume and gets significantly louder, by doing this it creates
tension as the audience can hear the object but not see it
therefore become afraid of it. In addition because there is very
little sound in the house and coming from the character the
rocking chair becomes almost overwhelming against the silence.
The sound itself of the rocking chair can be heard of a heart beat
and because it gets louder and faster the audience will build up
adrenaline and relate to the character Kipps more through
empathy. Other diegetic sounds like rain, footsteps, movement of
the toys and Kipps ripping the wallpaper become louder as there
are sections of the clip without noise as a result when there is
sound the audience are much more aware of it, creating tension.
The sounds that stand out to the audience are signifying that
something important is happening like the message on the wall
or the weather creating pathetic fallacy and impacts how the
viewers feel and know.
Non-Diegetic Sound
In the extract there is significantly less non-
diegetic sounds however during the last part of the
clip a soundtrack which has spikes of high pitched
music can be heard which is typical of horror for
building tension and atmosphere.
9. Wide Shot
High Angle
P.O.V
Extreme Close Up
Close Up
The wide shot in the extract is used to establish
where the character is in the room, however this
shot also shows the layout of the room, specifically
how there is and empty space in the middle, this
shows that the character cannot hide and gives
Kipps a sense of vulnerability.
The shots used to convey how the
character feels include point of view
and close ups, the extreme close up is
used to show the overwhelming
emotions of the character in the scenes
case fear. In these shots the director is
able to show the responses of Kipps
which allows the audience to
empathise with him. The point of view
shot put the viewers in the place of the
character, it is used in horror to make
the audience feel involved or in
situations to feel like they are
experiencing to make the movie more
believable and have more of a reaction.
The high angle is to make the victim look smaller and in danger, in the case of
the woman in black the sense of being watched is more apparent because of
the previous shots of the toys who appear to have eyes. Also within the extract
tracking shots were used as Kipps and audience entered the room, on the
other hand static shots were used to watch Kipps move closer down the
corridor this technique of using the movement or lack of movement creates
the feeling that something is waiting and watching the character, both of
which disturbs the viewers and builds tension.
Tracking/Steadicam
10. The pace of shot at the start of the scene were slow to show the
apprehension of the character about what to do, the low pace also allows
the audience to become paranoid about what the unknown sound was or
what was in the room. As Arthur Kipps begins to tear the wallpaper off the
pace of the editing gets faster, and is to imitate the characters movements,
as well as the camera movements getting less smooth to reflect the
characters determination and frenzied actions to find what is under the
wallpaper.
CGI was used in the rocking chair scene as the quick movement from the woman
entering and moving out of the frame would not have worked if practical effects
were used as it would have being to slow to produce the apparition effect . By
doing this it creates a jump scare for the audience, heightening the tension in the
scene.
Transitions were not used as the camera followed Kipps around into different
rooms, if effects like fade to black were added the audience would have
disconnected from the footage because it would break the flow and movement of
the character, in addition the steady shots of the camera showing the locations
allows the viewers to get a better understanding of the house, consequently
empathise more with the character as they experience the same things.